Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger believes Africa has made significant progress in its quest to win the FIFA World Cup.
Morocco has consistently been ranked among the best African teams, topping the continental FIFA rankings and making history as the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final in 2022.
Under head coach Walid Regragui, Morocco did not concede a goal until the semi-final against France, keeping clean sheets against Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
Morocco finished top of Group F with seven points after victories over Belgium and Canada and a draw against Croatia. In the round of 16, Morocco defeated Spain 3-0 on penalties following a goalless draw in regular time.
In the quarter-finals, the Atlas Lions defeated Portugal 1-0 through a goal by Youssef En-Nesyri, becoming the first African and Arab nation to reach a World Cup semi-final.
However, their journey ended in the semi-finals after a 2-0 defeat to France. Morocco subsequently lost 2-1 to Croatia in the third-place play-off to finish fourth overall.
According to Wenger, who currently serves as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, Africa is close to breaking the jinx and winning the World Cup.
The Frenchman highlighted Africa’s improvement at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, particularly in tactical discipline and organisation, describing these as major reasons nine African teams advanced from their groups.
‘The numbers don’t lie’
“Africa has made a fantastic step forward. There is still another step to make. We want to see an African team win the World Cup, and the numbers show that it is feasible,” Wenger said at the CAF Strategy Conference in Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cape Verde, as quoted by CAFOnline.com.
“The numbers don’t lie, but football is not only numbers. It is also attitude, mental qualities, unity and your value system. Those are things you have to continue working on.”
At the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, nine of Africa’s 10 representatives qualified for the Round of 32, with Tunisia being the only African team eliminated at the group stage.
“In the past, African teams sometimes lost because of a lack of compactness, too much distance between the lines and inconsistent concentration,” Wenger said.
“At this World Cup, it was difficult to beat any African team because the discipline and organisation were at the top level.”
Wenger added: “We are very close, but a small percentage can cost you the game. Most of these games were lost by one goal, so every detail in the modern game becomes absolutely vital.”
‘Morocco a role model’
Former Ghana coach Otto Addo, who worked with FIFA’s Technical Study Group throughout the World Cup, echoed Wenger’s views, singling out Morocco as an example of what African teams could achieve.
“Most African teams have the potential and the physicality to press higher, to be brave and to win the ball higher. Morocco showed that it is possible,” Addo said.
“Morocco are a role model in that respect. It was impressive to see how they could dominate teams like Brazil, and I see other African teams with the same possibilities.
“Sometimes you make 10 runs, and you don’t get the ball, but perhaps the 11th time you do. You need those profiles — players who keep getting into the box.”
Cape Verde coach Pedro Brito, popularly known as Bubista, said the team’s preparation and discipline had been central to its achievement.
“We prepared the group over a long period, and the discipline within the team gave us the capacity to reach the World Cup.
“From the beginning, we defined our objective: we wanted to move into the knockout stages. I told our leadership, ‘I don’t know how, but we are going to the knockout stage’,” he said.
Bubista said African football sometimes lacked clearly defined objectives for major competitions.
“Something that is sometimes lacking in African football is clearly defined objectives for these competitions. Very few teams say clearly: ‘We are going to reach the final’ or ‘we are going to reach the semi-finals’.”
BY TIMES REPORTER
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